Raising a beer for a Minnesota inventor who made the cold pint possible
Indoor hockey rinks, supermarkets, and even some medicines — those are just a few things that wouldn't be possible without Minnesota's own Frederick McKinley Jones.
An orphan born in 1893, Jones came to Minnesota at age 11 and taught himself engineering and mechanics.
"He changed the way we live," Luce Line CEO Tim Naumann said. "He was on their city website as one of the important people in the history of the city."
Thermo King employees gather at Luce Line Brewery in Plymouth, Minnesota, to celebrate one of their own.
"He's just an amazing person, all that he accomplished, and I think about him as an important element of our history here in and really our country and potentially the world," said Naumann.
Luce Line is serving up a Hazy IPA called "King of Cool" in honor of Frederick McKinley Jones, one of the most prolific inventors of our time.
"We are in the state of hockey, he is the person who invented indoor hockey rinks, you know, I love ice cream. Made it so I could have all the flavors in the world and the frozen and fresh vegetables that we all enjoy are really compliments of his ingenuity," Naumann said.
Naumann says the beer came out of a collaboration with a brewery in Hallock, Minnesota, where Jones's journey started.
The self-taught inventor built a transmitter for the town's radio station before landing the vice president of engineering job for U.S. Thermo Control Company.
That's where Jones created the Model A — the world's first successful refrigeration transportation system.
"He invented our first unit, our first portable air cool unit," said Felix Okoth, new product development technical lead engineer for Thermo King.
Okoth says Jones' invention launched the company now known as Thermo King, based in Bloomington, Minnesota.
"He can control the temperature of any goods in the trailer of any truck to reach you wherever you are, anytime, fresh," said Okoth.
Until the 1940s, transported goods were cooled by salt and ice — an inconsistent and labor-heavy process.
Model As helped feed communities and shape the modern food industry.
"Fred Jones was able to come up with an idea that changed the way we eat the way we stay healthy and the way we move goods around the world," said Okoth. "The industry has evolved over time, but we are not forgetting what he did for us."
From Model A to Model B and eventually to Model C in 1941, which mounted to the front of a vehicle, and allowed refrigerated support for Allied troops fighting in World War II.
"He ended up designing something that can control the temperature of the blood plasma to reach other people in the army to save more lives quickly, but before plasma was going to waste," Okoth said.
Jones' advances in refrigeration technology also helped make indoor ice rinks and year-round hockey possible.
With more than 60 patents, Jones was posthumously awarded the National Medal of Technology in 1991.
"He really made a difference in the world and we like to shine a light on greatness," Naumann said.
Luce Line says hazy IPAs are some of their most popular beers.
